Boats Done, How do I take care of it!

[DoyleH]

I launched my 1957 15' Wolverine Wagemaker this weekend (coldmolded hull,pictures to follow) The 1959 McCulloch 40 HP ran great! All I did to the motor was put in new plugs and fresh gas.

Other than my kayaks, I have never cared for a wooden boat. Do I just wipe it down after use? Are there any cleaning products I should use (or not use) on the varnish?

The boat will be stored on a covered and well supported boat lift on a MN lake. The boat will only be outside 4 months per year. Should I buy a cover for it that covers the boat completely?

Any advice would be appreciated.

[lumberdude]

Doyle, Being new to this myself maybe I shouldn't be offering advice, but noone else seems to be, so this is what I think. I'm going to occasionally wax my bright work where I can, and wipe down the hull after use. I plan on recoating then entire boat once a season(winter project) or every other depending on how it gets to looking. I have the advantage of having a climate controlled work area. I'm also going to defenitely get a custom cover to cover most of the boat.

Can't wait for the pics!

lumber

[Tonyr]

Waxing - well, I don't know. I have always avoided waxing anything I was certain that would need to be re-coated on a regular basis. The performance of using a solvent to get rid of the wax film (and/or sand to below the film) has seemed too much. Am I missing something here?

Regards, Tony.

[Tom Dugan]

While I can't make any specific recommendation (other than that I too would avoid waxing), I will note that covered docks are popular roosting spots for all sorts of birds.

I would opt for a cover of some kind.

-T

[nedL]

Certainly a cover is a good idea. Something that I used on varnished surfaces for years (& my family for years before me - going back to the 1950's)is lemon oil. I don't know about using it on synthetic varnishes, but I used to wipe all varnished surfaces down with it regularly & never had a problem when it came time for another coat in the spring. - Anyone else ever hear of this?

[Scott Rosen]

My dad used to use lemon oil and it worked fine. Don't wax your bright work. Spar varnish is not designed to take wax, and you'll have trouble getting the next coat to stick.

[gert]

How can you maintain bronze that has been polished?

[Donn]

Originally posted by gert:
How can you maintain bronze that has been polished?

Three choices:

1. Keep polishing...forever.
2. Coat it with a clear urethane sealer.
3. Let it weather the way it want's to.